RCTC athletics have become a 'family tradition' for mother, son, daughter trio

ROCHESTER For Jen Nerison and her kids, Rochester Community and Technical College athletics are something they all have in common.

Nerison, who is entering her fifth season as head coach of the RCTC volleyball team, played womens basketball and softball for the Yellowjackets after she graduated from Kenyon-Wanamingo High School.

Her son and daughter have since followed in her footsteps, becoming RCTC athletes.

ADVERTISEMENT Nerison will coach her daughter, Carmen, 18, on the volleyball team next season.

Carmen is currently a senior at K-W and has played volleyball, basketball and track and field.

Jens son and Carmens older brother, Laden, 21, played on the RCTC mens basketball team the past two seasons after transferring from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and graduating from K-W in 2022.

In high school, Laden played football and basketball and ran track.

(Its a) family tradition, Laden said with a smile.

It's kind of interesting, I guess, we all played here or are going to play here.

Laden and Carmen's introductions to the college came long before they signed on to play for the Yellowjackets.

Laden first visited RCTCs campus as a baby when Jen played in the alumni basketball game and Carmen tagged along for some long road trips with the volleyball team.

When shes not coaching, Jen is a special education teacher for the Goodhue County Education District.

After her time at RCTC, she finished her college basketball career at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Jen has quite an impressive volleyball resume and has coached in various roles.

Before taking the job at RCTC, Jen was the head coach of K-W volleyball for eight years and coached at Cannon Falls for nine years before that.

She also has experience coaching through the Southern Minnesota Volleyball (SMV) program.

She even spent some time as a coach for her kids youth teams soccer for Laden and basketball and volleyball for Carmen.

The last time Jen coached Carmen in volleyball was when Carmen was in sixth grade, and the mother-daughter duo is eager to return to the court together.

Carmen was a standout setter for K-W during the 2024 season, surpassing 2,000 set assists and helping lead the Falcons to the Section 1, Class 1A semifinals.

Watching her this last year, her senior year, she did such a great job, Jen said.

I just felt like her senior year, she kind of came out of her shell, and just wasn't afraid to talk to her teammates and kind of be that leader on the floor.

And you can just feel it.

...

So I'm looking forward to her bringing that into RCTC.

She has a very high volleyball IQ, and I'm just looking forward to seeing her grow with that.

ADVERTISEMENT Carmen talked to a few other schools about continuing her volleyball journey, but no others felt right, and she ultimately decided on the Yellowjackets.

She plans to get an apartment near campus with a few of her teammates and will study speech pathology.

It will be nice to be with my mom and some friends I know that are coming to play, Carmen said.

And just close, which is nice, because I want to be close to home.

After his upcoming graduation from RCTCs Facility and Service Technology (FAST) program, Laden will hang up his basketball shoes and will pursue an HVAC career.

But hell still be close by to catch a few of his mom and sisters volleyball matches next season, returning the favor from when they came to watch him play on the mens basketball team.

With volleyball and basketball seasons overlapping, Jen and Laden would occasionally run into each other on campus before or after practice.

It was kind of fun being able to see him ...

sometimes they were in before we were or we were there and theyd come in after us or Id peek in the weight room and see if he was working hard or not, Jen said with a laugh.

Although he wont be on the roster anymore, hell still be around RCTC.

Hes close with mens basketball coach Brian LaPlante and might assist him with the team next season.

I might go to a couple of practices and games, Laden said.

ADVERTISEMENT Carmen graduating from K-W marks the end of an era for the family with high school sports.

Its been awesome being able to coach Carmen in volleyball and basketball since she's probably been in third grade, and just getting to know her, Jen said.

We had a lot of nice car trips together, and then getting to know her friends in her grade, and kind of seeing them go through until the very end, until her senior year now, and just reminiscing.

I'm really going to miss being a gym parent.

...

I'm going to miss those days.

I already do.

While that chapter is coming to a close for the Nerison family, there are still many exciting days ahead with the Yellowjackets.

The trio agrees, their time at RCTC will be one they can all look back on fondly.

It'll be a nice experience to share, Carmen said.

Well all have things in common, to talk about and share with each other when we're older.

RCTC has just been such a positive experience, Jen said.

As a student, I really grew when I came to RCTC.

...

It just feels like home here, and I'm so glad that my kids get to experience a place that means a lot to me and that I will always just hold very dear to me..

This article has been shared from the original article on postbulletin, here is the link to the original article.